Don't Ever Forget
by XprongsXflowerX
Summary: AU The prophecy was never told. Harry was never targeted by Voldemort. But that means that Voldemort is still around and stronger than ever. When Harry leaves his family to become a Death Eater, all hell breaks loose...with a twist
1. Before the Storm

_Summary: In an AU world, the prophecy never existed, Harry's parents never died, and Harry lived a semi-normal life. However, Voldemort is still around and stronger than ever. The trouble comes when Harry turns 19. He runs away from home to join the Death Eaters. His family and friends are devastated and face many problems that revolve around Harry's actions._

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**Chapter One: The Calm Before the Storm**

**7/1/1999**

**Ginny's POV**

I held tightly onto Harry's hand as we walked down Diagon Alley. It probably wasn't safe for two teenagers to be walking down the street alone; especially two teenagers who were part of the Order of the Phoenix, but Snape had needed some potions ingredients to help Bill, who had burst in to the safe house covered in blood only moments ago. He passed out before he could say what happened, but Snape had guessed that it was Greyback, even though it wasn't the full moon. Bill's face had looked terrible and Harry and I had volunteered to get the necessary items. I don't know why Harry volunteered, probably just to follow me, but I had to get out of the house. I couldn't bear to look at Bill when he was injured like that. He was my favorite brother and any injury that he suffered also hurt me.

As soon as we got to the Apothecary Harry went to the manager and handed him the list of ingredients that Snape had written down. The manager was quick in getting all of the necessary items and he rung us out within five minutes of us walking in. Harry handed the man some money and grabbed the bags, not even waiting for his change as he walked out of the store in silence. I quickly followed him, wondering how all of this was affecting him. He had never been very open with his feelings, but ever since he graduated from Hogwarts he had seemed especially distant. I didn't know why, but I figured that it was because he was now out of school and in the real world. He must be worried about what was going to happen. Also, I don't want to sound conceited, but I think that he was also worried about me because after a lot of begging my parents had finally let me join the Order last month. He had gotten angry when I told him, saying that I was too young and it was too dangerous. I knew that he just didn't want me to get hurt, but I had to join. If my entire family was risking their lives every day, I had to be there to make sure they were okay.

We made it back to the house without any problems. Harry handed over the ingredients to Snape before running up to his room. I watched him go, and then quietly followed him a few minutes later, wanting to comfort him. His door was shut so I knocked quietly before opening it. Harry was lying on his back in his bed, staring at the ceiling. I lay down next to him with my arm across his chest. "Are you okay?" I asked him.

He rolled over so he was facing me and put his arms around me, pulling me closer. "I'm fine, just worried about some stuff," he replied. He kissed my forehead. When he pulled back he looked in to my eyes for a long time. Eventually he whispered, "I love you Ginny. You know that, right?"

I nodded. "I love you too, Harry," I told him seriously. We had started dating in his sixth year, my fifth. I had never thought of him like that before he asked me out; he had been more like an older brother when we were growing up. But I'm glad that he had those kinds of thoughts about me, because I could not imagine myself with anyone else. The two years we had been dating were filled with so much romance and love.

I was broken out of my memories when I felt Harry's lips on my own. He began kissing me with more vigor and passion than usual. I gave in, because it felt amazing. He rolled over so he was hovering above me with both of his arms by my head holding him up. He brought one hand up to cup my face as our making out got more intense. I put one of my arms around his neck and let the other one travel up and down his chest. The hand that was on my face continued down, brushing my breast as it went. He reached the hem of my shirt and began pulling it up off of my body. He threw it to the floor before putting both of his hands on my chest. I moaned. I did the same with his shirt and let my hands roam his chest and back. He was skinny, but there was definitely muscle too.

My hands continued down to his jeans. I have wanted this since our one year anniversary. I began undoing the button and he looked at me. "Are you sure?" he asked me. When I nodded he grabbed his wand from the bedside table and performed locking and silencing spells. "I love you, Ginny Weasley, no matter what."

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**7/9/1999**

**Blake's POV**

I was in the library studying with Andy. Studying. Over summer break. This girl was so weird, I didn't know why I liked her. Honestly, summer is the time to goof off and let your brain shut down. Yet here I was, reading a transfiguration textbook. All for her. I had started liking her last summer. After spending almost every single day of my life with her, I was surprised that I hadn't started liking her earlier.

Just as I was turning the page, Harry opened the door. He was mumbling something to himself, but all I could make out was "idiot" "leave" and "Ginny." When he noticed us he instantly froze. "Sorry," he muttered before walking back out. I just stared at the place he had been standing. He never would have done this a year ago. He would have noticed me and Andy and made some sarcastic comment about us before laughing and coming over to see what I was doing. Then he would have made fun of me for studying over the summer. But he had been acting weird ever since he had graduated from Hogwarts. He became more distant, stopped talking to me almost completely, and never laughed anymore.

Apparently Andy had also noticed this, because she looked up from her book with a frown on her face. "Is he okay? He's been acting really weird for a while not. I'm worried about him." She looked distressed. I knew that she thought of him as an older brother. Our families were really close and we had basically grown up in the same house (not technically, but our parents never went a day without seeing each other).

"I don't know. He doesn't talk to me anymore," I told her. Out of all of Harry's weird behaviors, this one bothered me the most. He was two years older than me, but he had always treated me like his friend instead of his little, annoying brother. We talked about everything, from girls to school to Voldemort. But ever since he returned from school last year he had stopped talking to me. It wasn't like he was ignoring me, because if I went to him he would listen and he talked to me about trivial things, but we no longer had any long, in-depth discussions like we used to. It could just be that he was now too old and cool to talk to his dorky 16 year old brother, or it was something else entirely. I honestly had no idea.

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**7/29/1999**

**Ginny's POV**

After the night that we had sex, it seemed like Harry was avoiding me, but I had no idea why. Whenever I tried to talk to him, he would come up with some excuse to leave; whenever I went in his room he was sleeping, or more likely he was pretending to sleep; whenever I walked into a room he was in, he walked out; at dinner, he sat at the opposite side of the table from me and wouldn't even look at me. I was afraid that I had done something wrong, or he was regretting having sex with me. I didn't know what to do and I was getting really worried. I thought that maybe he wanted to break up with me, but didn't know how.

After four weeks I had finally had enough. I had just walked into the library and watched as Harry walked out as soon as I sat down. He had gone through these phases before, where he wouldn't talk to me, but it never lasted this long. Instead of staying there brooding on the subject like I usually did, I got up and followed him. Instead of going to his room like I thought he would, he headed out to the backyard. He went and sat beneath the large tree that was back there. I was standing right next to him before he noticed me. "Harry, we have to talk," I told him. My tone was serious and I think he understood that I was upset because he wouldn't look me in the eye. I sat down in front of him and tried to keep his eyes on mine, but he looked everywhere but my face. "You've been avoiding me for the past four weeks and I want to know why. I don't know what I did, but this has to end. It's ridiculous and I'm sick of it," I told him. I don't usually cry, but I seriously felt like I was going to lose it. I loved Harry with all of my heart and to have him ignore me was the worst thing in the world.

He was silent for a long time, but after a few minutes he finally looked at me. It was weird, but he looked like he was going to cry. I had never seen Harry cry. Ever. So something must be really wrong for him to get this emotional. "Ginny, you know that, no matter what happens, I love you, right?" he asked.

"If you had asked me last month I would have said yes without hesitation, but lately I'm not so sure," I said bitingly. He was really hurting me, and I wanted him to feel an ounce of the pain that I felt.

"I'm sorry, I haven't been avoiding you on purpose, I just have a lot on my mind lately and I don't want to drag you into my problems," he said, trying to explain. But I didn't accept that. Everyone had problems, so why were his problems so important that he had to ignore me?

"You really hurt me Harry. I was afraid I did something wrong," I said quietly, trying to hold back my tears.

He took my hands. "I'm sorry. You're the last person I want to hurt. I just can't…" he broke off and looked away, as if he was debating whether or not to tell me something. "It doesn't matter why I've been acting stupid, as long as you know that I love you. This war is getting serious, and now that we're out of Hogwarts it directly affects us, but No matter what happens in the next few years, I'll always love you. You mean the world to me and I couldn't picture myself with anyone else." He leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine. I still didn't know why he had been so upset for the past month, but I decided that I didn't care. As long as Harry still loved me and wasn't having any second thoughts.

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**7/31/1999**

**Lily's POV**

Birthdays were always the hardest. They made me glad that we had survived another year, but they also made me face the fear of the future. How many more birthdays would we all have? Where would we be on our next birthday? There were too many questions that could have a bad answer. However, I always tried to stay positive for my kids. If they knew that their parents were upset, then they would be even more upset than they already were.

Today was Harry's 19th birthday. After all of the trouble we have faced, it was a miracle that he was still here. He was my first born son and always had a special place in my heart. But the past year he had been really worrying me. He probably didn't think that I saw it, but I noticed that he was spending less time with his friends and family and more time locked up in his room. I was really worried, but I hoped that he was just going through a phase. That's what James convinced me to believe. So maybe James was right, just this once.

Harry never liked a lot of attention on him, so we decided to keep his birthday small. One thing that I knew he would love was to have the party at our house instead of the safe house. As comfortable and homey as the safe house was, it still wasn't the home that Harry had grown up in, and it was also way too crowded. So I invited only the people he was closest to: the Blacks, Lupins, Weasleys, and Hermione. I knew that this small group would be the best present he could get right now.

The party was quiet. The kids sat around talking and the adults sat on a different side of the room in their own conversations. Every now and then I would look over at harry to make sure he was enjoying himself. At times he looked genuinely happy. He laughed and smiled like he used to. But everyone once and a while he looked so depressed and upset to be there. I didn't know what was causing these shifts in his mood, but I was worried.

Before we all left to return to the safe house I pulled him aside to talk to him. We hadn't had a real conversation in a long time. "Sweetie, are you okay? You've been looking kind of depressed lately and I'm worried about you," I told him, reaching out a hand to put it on his cheek. I didn't care if he was 19 and "too old" for motherly affection. He was my baby, and I got to treat him however I liked.

"I'm fine," he mumbled, not looking at me. His gaze was focused on something past me. I turned to see what it was, figuring that it was Ginny. Sure enough, it was. But he didn't look at her like he was happy in love. He looked like he was upset about something.

"Is something wrong with you and Ginny?" I asked. My hand dropped to his shoulder. I knew him and Ginny loved each other very much, so I couldn't imagine them getting into a serious fight.

"I'm just really worried about her now that she's in the Order," he told me. I nodded. This made sense, and explained his behavior for the past month. He loved her and didn't want anything to happen to her. I knew that James was pretty much the same way when we first joined the Order way back when.

"You don't have to worry too much, she's strong and can take care of herself," I told him. Ginny was strong. Growing up with six brothers made it necessary.

He just nodded and shrugged off my shoulder. I watched as he walked towards Ginny and took her hand in his. I was happy for them; they were perfect for each other. Now Blake needed to find his perfect girl. He probably didn't think I noticed, but I knew that he had a crush on Andy. I think that they would be perfect for each other, although Sirius was a bit protective of her, so I didn't know what he would say about it…


	2. The Storm

_A/N: Yes, Snape is very out of character, but that's the way I feel he would have developed if he had chosen to switch sides by himself, without the whole Lily problem. Because I do think he would have switched sides eventually. He is still in love with Lily, but it's not as strong because he's had a long time to get over her._

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Chapter Two: The Storm**

**8/1/1999 4:30AM**

**Amy's POV**

I woke up early in the morning, before everyone else, but I couldn't sleep, plus I thought I heard a sound on the stairs. I quietly got out of my bed and pushed the door open as silently as I could. I noticed someone heading down the steps. I followed them and quickly realized that it was Harry. Halfway down the stairs Harry realized that I was behind him. He turned and stared at me for a minute, before reaching his hand out to me. I took it and he lead me into the library.

He closed the door and went to sit down on the couch, pulling me onto his lap. "What are you doing up so early?" he asked me quietly.

I shrugged. "I couldn't sleep," I said. "Why are you up?"

"Just going to the bathroom," he answered. I looked down at him. He didn't look like he was just going to the bathroom. He was fully dressed, in a plain black robe and black shoes. But I didn't say anything about that.

He stared at me in silence. I wanted to know what he was thinking, but didn't know if I should ask. I didn't want him to get mad at me. He never did, but he got mad at other people and that scared me. He never used to get angry. But the other day he was yelling at Daddy and Uncle Sirius about something.

"I'm scared, Harry," I told him. And I was. Everyone tried to keep things from me, because I was only 10, but I knew that the war was hard and I was afraid that something was going to happen to someone I loved.

"I know. But I promise that I'll always protect you. No matter what," he said. "I love you, munchkin, and I couldn't let anything happen to you," he finished. He hugged me tightly for a minute. "You should go up to bed now." He stood up, pulling me with him. He led me back up to my room and shut the door behind me before heading back out.

Instead of going to bed like he wanted me to, I silently opened the door and watched as he made his way down the stairs. He didn't stop at the bathroom. He continued to the very bottom. I heard the front door open and then close behind him. I didn't know where he was going, but I hoped that he would be back soon. I always hated it when he was gone.

After a few minutes I began to get scared. Where was he going? And why did he have to leave so early in the morning? I started up the stairs to my parents' bedroom. I opened the door and silently walked over to my mom. She was sleeping on her stomach with her arm across my dad's chest. I grabbed her other arm and shook. "Mom, wake up," I whispered.

It took a few minutes to get her up, but eventually she realized that I was there. She rubbed her eyes and leaned on her arm to look down at me. "Amy? What's wrong?" she asked, looking down at me in concern.

"Harry left," I said quietly. I took her hand. "I'm scared he won't come back," I added.

When I said this she shot up. "He left? Where did he go? Why didn't he say anything?" she kept freaking out, asking random questions that she knew I didn't have the answer to. After a while her frantic voice woke Dad up. He sat up and put his hand on her shoulder, asking her what was wrong. She wouldn't answer him directly, she just kept asking those questions like before.

It took a while but eventually Dad understood what she was upset about. He was calmer than Mom, but I could tell that he was still upset. "Did he say anything to you before he left?" he asked me.

I nodded and explained what happened before he left. He listened carefully and nodded. He got out of bed and pulled me into a hug as I began crying. My mom was still freaking out and it was really scaring me. "He's not coming back, is he?" I asked.

"I don't know, sweetie. I don't know," Dad said quietly, holding me tightly.

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**8/1/1999 9:00PM**

**Snape's POV**

I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead before I opened the door to the safe house. I could not believe what I had just witnessed. And now I had to tell his parents. Lily was going to be completely distraught. I couldn't believe this. I sighed and then opened the door. As soon as I entered the house, Ginny ran up to me. "Have you seen Harry? He's been missing all day. Amy said he left the house this morning, but she didn't know where he was going or when he was coming back," she rambled. I knew that her and Harry had a relationship with each other, so I knew that she was extremely worried.

"Get Lily and James and meet me in the kitchen," I said, hoping not to betray anything by my face. I could tell that she was worried though, it was only natural.

As she went off to find them I got Dumbledore. I figured keeping this information limited was important right now. They could tell people when and if they were ready. Which I doubted they would ever be. Getting over something like this seemed impossible. It was betrayal to the highest degree.

Within a few minutes, everyone I asked for was in the kitchen, along with Sirius and Remus. I didn't object because I knew that they were also close to Harry. Everyone sat down looking grave. They knew that whatever I had to say wasn't good. I didn't know how I was going to do this. I couldn't bear hurting Lily, even if it wasn't my actions that hurt her.

Before I managed to open my mouth, Lily pleaded "Just tell me he's alive." She looked so desperate.

I nodded, wanting to give her any comfort I could, even if the news I was about to give was worse than him being dead. "He's alive, and as far as I know not harmed," I started.

"Then what's wrong?" Sirius demanded.

I simply glared at him, letting him know that he should shut up. "I'm really sorry to have to tell you. And if I had known before of his intentions I would have tried to prevent it. Voldemort called us today because he was inducting someone to the Death Eaters. He normally doesn't do this if it's a minor person, but he thought this one was worth it," I said. I didn't want to just come out and say it. It was hard to see their torn faces.

Ginny obviously understood before anyone else, except for maybe Dumbledore. She gasped and put her hand to her mouth, shaking her head and hoping that I didn't say what I was going to.

"Harry has joined the Death Eaters," I finished quietly.

"No, no, that's impossible. You mistook someone else for him," James said, shaking his head. Lily had tears running down her face and she buried her head in James' chest.

I didn't respond to James. He knew I wouldn't lie about something like this. As much as I hated him and his mutts, I could never say something to hurt Lily on purpose.

Sirius banged his fist on the table. "He's under a spell!" he shouted. "There's no way he would…"

Remus bit his lip but didn't say anything. He had always been the quiet one. When Ginny started to sob he put his arm around her, trying to offer any kind of comfort that he could.

"I tried confronting him after the ceremony. He told me that if I didn't leave him alone he'd tell Voldemort that I was loyal to the Order," I continued. I know that every word I said was only making it worse, but I had to tell them everything. "I don't know why he hasn't already, but I don't know how much longer he'll keep it to himself."

I looked at Lily. She was really upset. "I truly am sorry," I muttered, before leaving them to their grief. Dumbledore followed me out of the room, leaving the crying family.

"We'll begin keeping you from Voldemort's hold. Tell him that the Order's powers have shifted and you get less information. Anything to keep you from danger," Dumbledore mused. I nodded. I didn't like it, but I saw that it was necessary. "In the meantime, keep an eye out for Harry. I don't know why he has decided to switch sides, but I do know that he is a smart boy. He could turn out to be Voldemort's greatest weapon in this war," he finished gravely.

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**8/2/1999 1:00AM**

**James' POV**

"I don't understand," Lily cried. "Harry was such a good boy. He was so happy." She laid her head on the table with her hands covering her head. It was hard for all of us to understand this. Our perfect son, who had a great life, awesome friends, a good family, had turned against us. He had betrayed us.

"Here," Sirius said to Lily, pushing the Firewhiskey towards her. He was already drunk, and I was starting to get there. It was just easier that way. Drown out all of the pain.

Lily lifted her head and took a sip of the drink. She never really liked to drink, but I had a feeling she would from now on. And Harry did this. He was the cause of all of our pain. I tried to be angry at him, it would make it all so much easier if I could just cut him off and say he had never been a Potter. But I knew I couldn't do that. He was my son. My first born son.

"How didn't we see this?" Remus asked. He was always the sensible one, trying to find an answer to everything. "There had to have been signs."

"There were signs, we just didn't know that they pointed to him being a Death Eater," I sighed. Harry had been acting weird for a while. I had just figured that it had to do with him being in the Order now. There were a lot of added pressures in the war.

But as I thought about it, I understood that his behavior wasn't a result of stress. There had been weeks when he wouldn't talk to anyone, not even Ginny. Those weeks had bothered me the most. He wasn't exactly a social kid, but he was close to his friends and siblings and always told them everything. So him avoiding them wasn't a good sign.

Then there was the fact that he had started yelling at people when he was upset about something. He never yelled at me, or Lily, in his entire life. Not even when he was five and didn't get something he wanted. The most recent incident had been just last month, before Ginny returned from school. He had demanded that he be allowed to go on the more dangerous Order missions, such as a search and rescue that Sirius and I were heading off on. I tried to explain that he wasn't experienced enough, and he had yelled back that he was almost 19 and deserved to be treated like an adult and not a kid. I couldn't understand it. Now I see that he was just trying to get experience fighting, because Death Eaters were all brutal fighters.

"What are we going to tell Blake and Amy?" Lily asked weakly. They knew that something was wrong. Ginny had left the kitchen sobbing hours ago, and when they saw her they tried to get in and ask what had happened. But Mrs. Weasley had managed to keep them out. She didn't even know what was wrong, but she figured that it was too upsetting for them at the moment.

I shook my head, not knowing how to answer Lily. When they found out, they would be devastated. Blake had always been so close to Harry, and Harry treated Amy like a princess. Plus the fact that she had been the last one to see him. Her story always threw me off. I imagined that since Harry was joining the Death Eaters, he didn't have any emotions or love for us. But he had told her that he would always protect her. How could he do that when he was on the opposite side of the war?

I just took another sip of Firewhiskey. I figured that we could deal with the kids in the morning. At the current moment, I wanted to get so drunk that I didn't remember any part of the last day.

My plan was ruined when the kitchen door opened slowly. Amy and Blake were standing there in their pajamas. They looked so young and innocent. Lily quickly sat up and brushed the tears off of her face, but I knew they already saw. She held her arms open for them and they began walking forward. Amy cuddled up in Lily's lap and Blake sat down next to her. I put my arm around his shoulder.

"What happened to Harry?" he asked in a quiet voice. He seemed a lot younger than 16 at this moment.

"Harry…" Lily began. But she trailed off, not able to make it past his name. She turned away from them to try and wipe the tears off of her face.

I knew I would have to do this. Lily was too emotional at the moment. "Harry has left us to join the Death Eaters," I said quietly. I knew that it was harsh to be so blunt, but I didn't think that delaying the news would have been better. It was a hard world we lived in.

When I said this Lily started sobbing. She was hurting, and I understood perfectly. Amy saw this and also started crying. She was also upset because she had been the last person to see him before he left.

Blake's reaction was the most upsetting for me. He stood up, knocked his chair backwards, and ran from the room, slamming the door behind him. I knew that he had been the closest to Harry, so this reaction was expected.

This was hard for all of us; I didn't know what we were going to do. Our family was falling apart at the seams and it was really scaring me. I needed to know why Harry had left, but I knew I would never get that opportunity. If he was really a Death Eater he wouldn't have any cares for his family and I would definitely not be able to speak to him.


End file.
